Krugman wins Nobel for economics

Mr Krugman is a fierce critic of President George W Bush

American academic Paul Krugman has won this year’s Nobel economics prize, it has been announced.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the award recognised Mr Krugman’s analysis of trade patterns and where economic activity takes place.

It said Mr Krugman, 55, a Princeton University professor, had formulated new theories that answered questions about free trade and globalisation.

Mr Krugman said he hoped the $1.4m win would not change his life greatly.

"The prize will enhance visibility but I hope it does not lead me into going to a lot of purely celebratory events, aside from the Nobel presentation itself," he said.

We are now witnessing a crisis that is as severe as the crisis that hit Asia in the 90s. This crisis bears some resemblance to the Great Depression Paul Krugman Nobel prize winner

Mr Krugman teaches economics and international affairs at Princeton University in New Jersey, and also writes a regular column for the New York Times.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7667190.stm

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - A private jet that crash-landed almost one year ago in eastern Mexico carrying 3.3 tons of cocaine had previously been used for CIA "rendition" flights, a newspaper report said here Thursday, citing documents from the United States and the European Parliament.

The plane was carrying Colombian drugs for the fugitive leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, when it crash-landed in the Yucatan peninsula on September 24, El Universal reported.

The daily said it had obtained documents from the United States and the European Parliament which "show that that plane flew several times to Guantanamo , Cuba, presumably to transfer terrorism suspects."

It said the European Parliament was investigating the private Grumman Gulfstream II, registered by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, for suspected use in CIA "rendition" flights in which prisoners are covertly transferred to a third country or US-run detention centers.

It also said the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) logbook registered that the plane had traveled between US territory and the US military base in Guantanamo.

It said the FAA registered its last owner as Clyde O’Connor in Pompano Beach, Florida.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080904/twl-mexico-us-crime-drugs-2802f3e.html

BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Sarah Palin during her college years.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/09/05/2008-09-05_sarah_palin_a_flipflopper_before_she_was.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSLP66354720080825

Former Commando and General, Pervez Musharraf, who seized power of Pakistan’s 170 million people and their arsenal of nuclear weapons and failed to find Osama Bin Laden (currently hiding in Pakistan’s "lawless border region"), but who nevertheless has been a so-called "loyal U.S. ally" and "trusted partner in the Global War on Terror" — even though he dismissed Pak’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court last November — is done.

Press reports are that Musharraf, heavily supported by the Bush administration, will be flown to exile in Saudi Arabia (where else would a loyal Bushie go?).

In Pakistan, he survived four (4), assasination attempts and was so unpopular that after "winning" a fraudulent election last November, even his own hand-picked Army Chief of Staff decided not to support him.

And what does a dictator who loses control of his army of oppressive goons do?  Flee to safety in Saudi Arabia.  Don’t worry though, I’m sure that we’ll find more brutal dictators to support (as long as they sell us oil).

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Pakistans-President-Pervez-Musharraf-Resigns-During-Address-To-Nation/Article/200808315080861?lpos=World%2BNews_0&lid=ARTICLE_15080861_Pakistan%2527s%2BPresident%2BPervez%2BMusharraf%2BResigns%2BDuring%2BAddress%2BTo%2BNation

As this material becomes more public, we will all have to answer the difficult questions of whether we should have this policy of overthrowing all sorts of foreign governments.

From Iran to Guatemala, from Vietnam to Brazil, from Bosnia to South Korea, the brutal dictators that we’ve installed have slaughtered millions in bloody coups, wars and insurgency for decades.

The record of their atrocities should be publicized by as many people as possible.  That way, maybe good folks like Saddam Hussein and Augusto Pinochet (both among our rogues gallery of former allies), will not be chosen next time.

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/CIAtimeline.html

The proposal, which does not require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews that government scientists have been performing for 35 years. Developers welcomed the plan, while environmentalists derided it.

Georgia: Russia has invaded and we are under attack

Vladimir Putin: the war has started

By Gary Fennelly
Friday, 8 August 2008

Russian First Channel claims these are burning Georgian armored vehicles are seen in Tskhinvali in the South Ossetian breakaway region of Georgia on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/georgia-russia-has-invaded-and-we-are-under-attack-13934899.html?a=13934899
Youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqfh8CEf0cg&feature=user

Analysts wonder whether Mr Musharraf would risk sacking his government

The decision by Pakistan’s new ruling alliance to impeach the country’s President, Pervez Musharraf, has sparked jubilation as well as fears across the country.

If current opinion polls are anything to go by, Mr Musharraf has become the most unpopular leader in the country’s history.

His public standing suffered a setback in March 2007 when he sacked Pakistan’s chief justice.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVDjfCSBad8udQBJ7i_yS7W-M3cQ

"Everyone understands that we don’t need as many tanks when we’re not facing an invasion." — Prime Minister Francoise Fillon

…So, France decides (like other nations), that it will cut its military and invest at home to help out its economy… What a concept!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_re_eu/france_military_restructuring